Access to Diazepam

[JustwhenIthought]

Hello!
for the past 10 years I’ve had a small prescription of diazepam and by carrying it with me it helps me do things I otherwise wouldn’t do because of fear -like get into lifts.
I’ve only actually taken one about 4 times - it’s more about feeling in control.
.
I initially got them for flying but have just faced up to paying more for a seat at the front instead. Also with some therapy I’ve recognised it’s not my responsibility to look after the plane/passengers…. And ice really helps!

I know ideally I shouldn’t need them but having access really helps me live a normal life. Do you think my GP would be willing to keep prescribing one or two a year if I tell the truth and don’t use them on flights? I know it is harder to get them now. Would a mental health professional be more sympathetic?

It’s a safety behaviour so you’d probably benefit from therapy rather than medication ’just in case’. You can self refer to NHS Talking Therapies, just google to see where the team in your area is based & how you can refer.

I didn't have any luck with this

They said they would rather I took anti depressants

I was on them for years and years, and I don't want to go back on them

It's a no from my doctor and I know others IRL had the same problem and weren't prescribed them after bereavements.

My 87-year-old mother managed to get some recently but only after a very long lecture. The latest - this is a new one on me and I feel like I've heard them all - he's apparently they think there's a link to dementia and Alzheimer's, but they thought it was acceptable to give her a few. Her prescriptions are free because of her age. If you had to pay a tenner for that you'd be really annoyed. Tell a lie you'd be so relieved to actually get them...

Anyway, let us know if you have any luck

I moved house and my previous doctor actually thinks they're going to stop manufacturing them because no one prescribes them.

Thank you.
i reckon its like hrt 20 years ago…..i remember the midwife saying no one would be prescribed it in 20 years’ time…..

Thanks for the replies.

If Gp will not prescribe, the only mental health practitioner that can prescribe is a psychiatrist. Unlikely to get nhs referral for an appointment so would have to go private. No idea if they would prescribe without a diagnosis.

I wonder if GPs know (or care) that people just buy dodgy ones online instead

Fortunately, I managed to get a Diazepam prescription recently but I had to make a case and they only gave me four.

Have you any left still?

Cos if you have, why not find another tablet that looks the same - size/colour, but a vitamin or something, and mix them up

because it sounds like its the placebo effect that is working for you

So say you have 3 left and add another 3 placebos, next time you take one, you won't know for sure, but the placebo effect could and should work

Your belief in the diazepam is so strong, you have admitted you only have them as a hand hold and rarely need to take one

I do get it though. I have 4 opioids left from when I had a serious injury a few years back, I was left in pure agony and now and again - getting less - the old injury flares and Im left floored by the pain . But since that initial injury I have been taught such tiny gentle movements I can work my way out of the need of an opioid, but I always give myself 4 hours. This agony will pass in four hours and if it hasn't, then Ill take one - Ive taken one in two years , but Im holding onto those last four - JIC

Diazepam isn’t recommended for flying anymore, so it’s unlikely a gp will prescribe for this.

However, if you explain what you told us, and you have already proven that you’re not abusing it by your infrequent usage, so you may be okay.

The NHS love antidepressants. Im not sure why but the slightest whiff of any mental health stuff and they just slap an antidepressant prescription on you. I've lived in over 10 different countries and ive never lived somewhere where so many people are on pills of some kind.
Look into selfhypnosis, hypnotherapy and actual Buddhism-led meditation

@JustwhenIthought I doubt it will go the way of HRT

I remember when it was easier to get diazepam. Not easy. But with raging anxiety and panic attacks, they would give it to you. I think they give beta blockers now.

Diazepam is quickly habit forming and makes you feel awful the next day.

I had a handful for severe anxiety years ago and very quickly, within days, if I took one I would feel tiny bit spacey and get a headache and feel hungover the next day. It did almost nothing. The next course of action is go up a dose which I refused to do.

It's pointless having a drug that will stop working very quickly if you took it and that you never take. There are other methods.

@PleaseDontAsk
It sounds like it had a big effect on you

I was fine the next day.

If you have only ever taken about four, and you have had a prescription for ten years, I don't really understand why you haven't got any to carry about with you?

Relying so heavily on having them 'just in case' doesn't really sound very healthy. It reminds me of the trope of a recovering alcoholic who keeps a bottle around as some sort of symbol of recovery. It suggests a dependence of some sort, even without the (very rapid) dependence that comes from actually taking it.

@MyThreeWords I love your username!

I think what OP means is she was prescribed 4 per year for 10 years.

I can completely relate to this. I had them hanging around for years and never ever took them but had them on me when I flew. I don’t have the answer to your question, all I can say is that at some point I managed to wean myself off of my crutch. I often find these things get easier when there’s a change in circumstance,
like a new baby or partner or job…something that requires you to re prioritise and one day you realise you’re no longer bothered. Good luck.

Thank you ClaredeBear for the empathetic post xxx.
yes, I found when I had babies, and also when my job was going wrong, that it was different!

@EmeraldRoulette Only semi relevant, but as an inpatient psych nurse, I highly doubt that. We get so through so much diazepam/lorazepam that I sometimes think the unit should take out shares in them!- but of course our patients are very unwell indeed. In general, community use of benzos is usually considered bad practice these days, except for very specific situations. That’s why they’re not prescribed much in primary care anymore.

@JustwhenIthought OP, just a thought, but have you tried promethazine? It’s an over the counter antihistamine that has a similar ‘calming’ effect for many people but isn’t addictive. If it’s more about having something rather than diazepam per se it’s worth seeking out.

I actually have them on repeat (SMI, multiple sections).

That said, I'm cautious with them, maybe 4-5 a month and only request a refill maybe 3 times a year.

I get it though OP, I wouldn't want to need one and not have one. I never take them if I'm driving within the next 12 hours or anything similar.

I was recently declined a low short term dose for chronic back pain so i turned to an online seller instead- i realise it isnt ideal/safe but i was desperate and it saved my sanity and back pain

My GP recently prescribed me some for bad anxiety. It was low dose 2mg and one box that is not on repeat. I think the fact you've only taken a few shows you are in no way dependant on them or abusing them in any way.

I'm prescribed them roughly once a year for insomnia that can lead to hypermania (I have bipolar), my GP warned me when I was prescribed them a couple of weeks ago that it was probably the last time he'd prescribe them for me and I would have to look at alternatives.

My psychiatrist is the same - at my worse I was prescribed 2mg up to four times a day. Nowadays I have promethazine which works quite well or beta blockers.

I’m prescribed 5mg three times a day. Get a repeat prescription every month. I’ve a serious mental illness and these help me stay in work, parent the kids and stay out of hospital. My psychiatrist isn’t worried about how I take them.

I get 12 a year from my gp but I’m bipolar and don’t take medication, it’s just for the extreme scenarios. My gp is very understanding and I’m super lucky.

My mother in law is prescribed the 2mg dose, a strip of 14 every 3 months, not for mental health, for an actual muscle relaxant due to physical health problems she has. She only uses them once in a while.